Direction

Vijay Upadhyaya was born in Lucknow in India. After obtaining his Bachelor of Arts in English literature, economics and history, he continued his studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz and graduated with the degree Magister Artium. His musical training includes 12-year degree courses in percussion (Tabla) and Indian classical dance (Kathak) in India.

He was visiting professor at the conservatoires in Paris, Edmonton (Canada), Tbilisi (Georgia), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Chengdu and Beijing (China), Istanbul, Trabzon and Malatya (Turkey) and in Damascus and has directed projects in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Singapore and East Timor. Since 1988 he is active as a conductor of choirs and orchestras in Austria and abroad. These include the "Graz University Choir and Orchestra," "Thirteen Strings" in Canada, "The Boston Sinfonetta" in the United States and the "Borusan Orchestra" in Turkey.

From 1993 to 1995 he was lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. In 1995 he conducted at the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS). From 1994 to 1999 he was musical director of the St. Charles Church in Vienna. His arrangements of Austrian carols are broadcasted throughout Europe.

From 1997 to 2001 he worked as a conductor at the Austrian Cultural Forum in Rome and was involved in projects with the "Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia". From 2001 to 2005 he conducted the "European Voices Istanbul" at the Austrian Cultural Forum in Istanbul and in the spring of 2005, he was head of a European Union project called "European Horizons" in Turkey. In this project master classes in conducting were held at 8 Turkish conservatoires and concerts given in 5 countries. In 2010 he founded the "India National Youth Orchestra" which, among other activities, played the opening of the German year in India during the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

He currently directs the Orchestra and Choir of the Vienna University, the Vienna Schubert Orchestra and the Vienna Festival Chorus and has performed with world-renowned artists such as Peter Sellars, Christoph Schlingensief, Subhash Ghai and Peng Liyuan and worked at institutions such as the Vienna State Opera, the Vienna Burgtheater, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and the Schauspielhaus in Hamburg. From 2007 to 2010 he was artistic director of the Austro-Iranian Symphony Orchestra and Choir in Tehran. Since 2008 he works as an expert for the evaluation of cultural projects for the European Union. Since 2009 he has been a regular guest conductor of the Chinese National Orchestra and Choir. From 2010 to 2013 he was conductor of the Providencia Philharmonic Orchestra and the Concepción Symphony Orchestra in Chile. Since 2013 he has become somewhat withdrawn from his activities as an international conductor because he is writing on his first symphony, which will be premiered on December 11th, 2014 in Vienna.